USMNT lack star power to compete with elite teams
The Dan Le Batard Show breaks down the United States' loss to Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16, explaining why Mauricio Pochettino's squad doesn't have the star power to reach the next level.
Video Transcript
Before we get to you guys, because I, I really I'm unsurprised by the American delusional reaction of entitlement where you expect something more, and if you're gonna lose, I would've preferred some drama, I would've preferred, you know, overtime, close game, penalty kicks, something.
Just not a waste of our time last night watching that game because you see fairly instantaneously.
You had two minutes where you were excited.
Two.
You got two whole minutes where you tied the game.
But the problem affic- afflicting the United States is that they are in the college football rankings others receiving votes in the world.
That's, they What they just did is what they are.
And their problem is they don't have a star.
They don't have one of those.
And you keep selling me Pulisic, but he turned the ball over 11 times, lost possession in 45 minutes, more than anybody on the field.
They do not have a star.
American soccer has been trying to tell us for four or five decades that we are going to get on the world stage with the elite, and they don't have anyone who represents stardom.
These numbers are startling, but it's what the United States is.
I will get to your disappointment in a second.
But we're now one in six in the round of 16.
All six of the losses, zero goals or one goal.
They can't score.
Like, when it gets deeper and deeper into this and you're playing against the teams that are as good or, as you or better, you're just another team running around out there wasting everybody's time.
And so where are you guys?
Because they made the mistake of inflating hope and now people are extra disappointed today.
The criticism is coming hard, and it's coming hard for only two players as far as I can tell.
It's the keeper and it's Pulisic.
Yeah, I, I feel like you're overreacting.
I, I feel like you overreacted last week when you said it was already a monumental success just for the US to reach the, round of 16.
That, that- I didn't say a monumental success I think you did I just said it's a successful World Cup run to get to the round of 16.
And it, and it wasn't because that's the average.
That's where they're stuck in a rut.
Getting beyond the round of 16 would've made it a success.
And when you say they don't have a great scorer, if, if you're, if you're saying they don't have an Mbapp or a Messi or a Kane- They don't have a star Of course you're right They don't have a star.
They were about to play When you guys are sitting here telling me they can win the World Cup and I'm like, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Okay.
They don't have a star.
All the remaining teams have stars.
The teams expected to win, the favored teams, have people who score goals.
Okay, you just said that they're one of the other teams also receiving votes, to use a college football analos- analogy.
They were ranked 15th in the world going into this game out of more than 200 nations playing football.
Yeah, but that's like your top 15.
It moves up and down and you can fall out of the top 25 when we change the list, uh- O- okay.
They were in the top They, they were 13 a couple of weeks before the World Cup.
They've been as low as 17 in the last couple of years.
They're a top 20 team.
Obviously they're not where they need to be, but neither are they an also receiving votes team.
Greg, they're the bottom of the top 16 and they just got knocked out in the round of 16.
Right.
Right.
Which means it is not a successful World Cup like you said it was last week.
It isn't.
It, it was an average, it was a typical World Cup performance for the US team with a fairly easy run to the, to the 16 and with home field advantage.
It was an ordinary World Cup for the US men.
It was not a success by any measure whatsoever.
I think it's a mass- I, I don't think it's just disappointment, I think it's a massive disappointment what happened.
Not only due the way that they lost last night, but Greg makes a good point about it being an easy run.
Why was it an easy run?
Well, because they're the host country and so you get to be slotted into the top tier, which of course means that your group matches are going to be much easier than you actually deserve.
So in a year where they got the great draw being in the top tier as a host nation, they didn't even advance past where they routinely get to.
I mean, miss me with the whole they won the knockout round game.
Round of 32 only exists this year.
Right.
It's the first time it's ever existed.
Like, they literally got to the exact point that they always get to and this time they got their kicked in, okay?
They don't always get their kicked in in the round of 16.
Last night they did.
What is that phrase?
Someone help me with that phrase.
I've been hearing it for a long time.
And what happens?
I go to the bathroom, I and then someone kicks it and it goes back in?
like, what is that phrase?
Well, they're kicking your ass so hard that the is going back.
Yes.
Oh, okay.
You say, "Oh!"
Okay.
"Kick me right in the ass."
All right.
I see.
Yeah.
I thought you, you had the kicked out of you.
That's what I always- That's what I thought.
Right.
But evidently it's, it, it was kicked out of us and then it was kicked back in because Belgium held the ball all game.
And the, the part that was disappointing about last night beyond the fact that they, you know, injected a bit of hope into, our country, that was not interesting, fun.
There was nothing to watch there that indicated to you at any point after the first 30 minutes that the United States was gonna do much of anything.
Like, like Dan, you mentioned that Belgium just held the ball the whole game.
I don't think that was the case at all.
I- in the sec- like, the first half, US was awful.
Holy .
We, we were the w- we were the worst team in the World Cup in the first half.
They were so bad in that first half.
At least in the second half the US had the ball pretty much the entire half, but they get no chances.
No, but that's- They get no shots No- They had two shots.
Not shots on goal.
Well, they were also shots on goal.
But two total shots, only one in the second of all game.
I misspoke if you heard, if, if what I said is that they, that Belgium possessed the ball.
There were no reasonable threats for the United States- Right that gave you any reason to think Like the, the, the thing that caused all the hope the first game against Panama where they, they, they are controlling the ball and they're attacking and they're aggressive and you see that they're threatening.
There was nothing in the way of threat during that game.
Well, Garcia changed up the line up too.
They took out De Bruyne and they took out a bunch of people and we were like, "Okay, that's what you're gonna do to this team?"
Like the ch- the US may have a chance.
And then Pulisic just got bullied.
Oh, he stunk.
The entire game that he was out there, completely bullied.
Did not look like he played soccer whatsoever.
Pulisic had 17 touches the entire game.
A minuscule total.
He lost the ball 11 ti- he lost possession 11 times- He, he had- in 45 minutes.
He had an abysmal game.
And, and the whole attacking of the US last night, they couldn't get to the end line for crosses.
They, they couldn't earn corner kicks.
They had no chances.
Everything was stuck in They were constipated in midfield.
They couldn't move it in and take shots on goal.
It was the worst fi- it wasn't just that they lost, because Belgium's a better side.
I don't care what the betting odds said.
The homer betting odds I think had the US as a slight favorite.
Belgium's a better squad.
It would've been a nice win, but they, they picked the worst time to have their worst game of the World Cup.
And let's, let's not sugarcoat it.
Pulisic, he was, he was terrible yesterday.
Yeah.
He was a no-show this entire World Cup.
He didn't, yeah.
Like, like I understand he got hurt in the first game, so they kept him out of the second half, and then he missed the second game.
He was a no-show the entire World Cup.
I, I know you guys are making fun of me, Greg specifically, when I say they don't have an Mbappe, okay?
That seems fairly obvious.
But when you're watching Haaland, or you're watching Harry Kane, or you're watching Messi, that's the United States' star.
That's the name on the jerseys.
That's the guy that people know because they've been telling us since he's 19 years old that he is the hope of American soccer, and it went and died on the field last night in a way that got bullied.
Now, he's injured, okay?
He's, I He is not 100% healthy.
He's not.
But the idea that the United States didn't have anything in the way of a threat for You can say now that Belgium's better, but not as a betting No.
No, the money was on the United States last night.
Yeah.
And before that game, it was not clear to the money that Belgium is the better side.
We watched the game, and now it's clear to everybody that Belgium, coming off a game where they were almost eliminated.
They were down two-nothing against Senegal in the 82nd minute in their last game, and they won the game 3-2.
They should've been tired.
They should.
That's an old team.
They should've been beaten up.
The United States is more athletic.
And what?
The end result is that the United States fan is now bothered because they did inflate hope in a way that made the expectations, I think, unreasonable.
I don't think that they were I don't think, when Fox is begging the United States to not turn off its television after that game, and to please keep watching the game, I don't believe they did anything last night to earn fans.
They did stuff before that to earn fans.
Last night, last night was gonna be the most watched, I imagine when the numbers come in, the most watched United States men's soccer game there has ever been, and they did nothing last night to earn a fan.
Have we not been having this exact same conversation for years now?
Is this the World Cup that takes soccer to the next level here in the United States?
We have that conversation every four years.
Yes.
Every four years.
And this year, like, it was no different from any other year.
I think we've reached the top of our current level.
I- To your point, we have not reached the next level yet.
But I will admit, in this World Cup, just the feelgood, the, the, the good performances early on, they're at the top of their current level, but to your point, have not reached the next one yet.
I, for me, the difference is that in this World Cup, there was a little bit of a reason to actually be hopeful.
They played four games before last night.
they won three of the four.
The, the offense was not an issue leading into last night's game.
They were scoring fine in this World Cup.
but last night was different.
The, you can say Belgium's not any good.
They're a 10th-ranked team.
They're a top-10 team.
I didn't say they weren't any good.
They have pedigree.
They're a pe- and old means experience.
They're a pedigreed franchise, so to speak.
A pedigreed country in, in, in World Cup lore, although they've never reached the final.
quality team.
I, I can't The only reason the US was favored last night was because of homer, US hopes.
No.
No, no.
They were favored last night because how they looked in the first four games.
Right.
That's fair.
That's fair.
And, Chris, when you say they're not at the next level, how many levels are there?
I What, what level do you have them on as your- There's five levels total.
And so which, which one are they climbing?
Like, how many are ahead of them?
Because in terms of having a star, they're not on any kind of level.
They're, they do not have a star soccer player.
America does not have a star soccer player.
Why are there five levels, though?
I don't know.
It feels right.
So where are they, though?
When you say they have- If there's five, I would say they are at the top of the second level.
No.
Like, they were thinking they could get into that third- No.
Second from the bottom or second from the top?
They're the 16th-ranked team out of hundreds of teams.
How are they not- So you think they're right below the elite countries?
Well, no.
I, see, like- Yes.
You said the top.
You, yes to me, to me, the elite teams are in the five.
The, the next best are in the four.
Like, what are you guys talking about?
So how many elite teams are you making?
H- how many elite teams are you putting in the five?
Five's all.
One is not the best.
Oh, my bad.
I was going up to five.
Okay, I got it.
'Cause I couldn't think of anymore.
I'm with you.
Wouldn't one be the best?
You know, well, he's, he's got 'em at two and four.
But I want- Is this like a totem pole?
depending on which way you're going here.
I like to be on the fifth level.
Well, but I think they're right in the middle, though.
I don't think I think they're at the top of the third level.
So they're three.
Ooh.
Top three.
See.
Yeah, yeah.
Top three.
Either way you slice it, they're in the mi-
